Viewing Venus

In September 2010, Venus will shine brilliantly in the western sky.
Its size and phase will change dramatically as it `catches up' with
the Earth.

This table provides simulated images and other data for Venus every
Tuesday it is visible. Each date links to an image showing how Venus
will look that day. The altitude column gives the angle between Venus
and the horizon as seen from Honolulu at 19:00 HT (7:00
pm); each number is also a link to a map of the sky. Venus will be
setting in the west; to get the best views of the planet, we need to
observe it as early in the evening as possible. The diameter column
gives the apparent diameter of the planet; note the rapid increase in
size as Venus approaches the Earth. Finally, the phase column gives
the angle between our line of sight toward Venus and the direction of
sunlight falling on the planet. At the start of the semester, Venus
is half-full, but a month later it will be a thin crescent.

WEB RESOURCES

Animation showing Venus as seen from the Earth from
31-Jul-2010 at 14:00 to 31-Oct-2010 at 14:00 HST
(01-Aug-2010 at 00:00 to 31-Oct-2010 at 20:00
UT). Note the planet's dramatic change in
apparent size and phase as it catches up with the Earth.
Generated using Solar
System Simulator (Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech).